The year 2008 is witnessing yet another record minimum sea ice extent in the Arctic. Some climate models now predict that summer Arctic sea ice might altogether disappear in about 30 or 40 years. While the effects of a shrinking sea ice cover on global climate, ocean circulation and marine biology are expected to be quite significant, they are very difficult to evaluate because of our very incomplete understanding of the polar climate components and our limited ability to model them.

The scientific community is investing considerable effort in organising our current knowledge of the physical and biogeochemical properties of sea ice, exploring poorly understood sea ice processes, and forecasting future changes of the sea ice cover and their impact on the natural world and human activities, such as the exploitation of gas, oil and mineral resources, navigation, tourism, and military operations.

In this session, we invite contributions regarding all aspects of sea ice science and sea ice-climate interactions. Oral presentations and posters on snow and sea ice thermodynamics and dynamics, sea ice-atmosphere and sea ice-ocean interactions, sea ice biological and chemical processes, and sea ice models will be welcome.

SOLICITED SPEAKERS:

JEROME WEISS (Laboratoire de Glaciologie et de Géophysique de l'Environnement): "Evolution of sea ice drift, deformation and fracturing during the last decades and their role on the decline of the Arctic sea ice cover"

MARTIN VANCOPPENOLLE (Universite Catholique de Louvain): "On the brine drainage and algal uptake controls of the nutrient supply to the sea ice interior"